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Some Important Basics for DmC

TWOxACROSS

Hot-blooded God of Guns
Premium
So, just a few basics that I've been thinking about that has gotten some people all mixed up in playing the game. The controls are different, of course, but there's also some subtle mechanics to master in order to really get the most out of the game....or demo, as it were :p

!) Orientation & Facing
This one is a little easy to remember, but Dante's facing is extremely important. Whether it's aiming a firearm or Ophion, or even using melee attacks, facing is key. Dante has a form of auto-lock for both close and far combat, but it can be overridden by tilting the left stick. This is best used when you specifically want to attack a certain enemy within a group. Also be sure to make use of R3 to snap the camera behind Dante's facing to ensure that you always know precisely where enemies are.

Yeah, it can get messed up when you want to target someone behind another within a similar line of sight, but that's when you should be using something like Angel Boost to get yourself closer. complain all you want about the lack of a hard lock, but here's a solution, use it or don't :p

@) Input Buffering
People familiar with fighters might know this one, but buffering inputs with other attacks will help you keep your flow in a combo, and battle in general. Specifically, this is when you start doing the input of another subsequent action while the animation of the first is still active. People are almost always doing this when they mash a button to perform a regular combo, but most importantly this can be done for other actions, specifically ones that require more inputs...
  • Stinger's Left Stick inputs can be done during other attacks to reduce the "start-up time" the move has from having to double-tap the stick
  • Holding in one of the Mode triggers to prep yourself for a different action can make sure your next attack is more precise, and comes out fluidly within a combo, like if your attack is going to blow the enemy away, immediately hold the applicable trigger and mashing Shoot to be ready for using Ophion, instead of waiting for that split-second shifting process
...this is probably one of the most important aspects in making crazy-long combos, and ensures you don't break your rhythm. Also use a stationary aerial evade to retain your airtime, and also as another animation within which to buffer the next ability you want to do.

#) Angel Dancing
Just a few things from the demo, where if you double-tap Evade while in Angel mode, you'll do half your normal dodge roll, and then the phasing dash. This not only lengthens your evasion distance (and invincibility frames), but you can also redirect yourself mid-evade by tapping one direction and then immediately tilting to another before the phasing animation starts. This way, you can dodge away and return to be ready for a counter attack. This can also be done during an aerial evade, but you'll lose height.

$) Parry Shredder & Rake Jumping
Having trouble parrying attacks? Try facing the enemy you want to parry, ready Osiris, and use Prop Shredder during their attack broadcast before the hit lands. The attack's animation is long enough that it affords you a longer window with which to parry. This can be useful when you don't want to take too many chances, but want to get that parry in, like on Poison's arm sweep. Another interesting move with Osiris is by using Enemy Step to Jump Cancel from one Rake, then letting Dante get just high enough to still reach down at the enemy with another Rake. Keep up the timing and spacing, and it's another way to climb up to the sky!

%) A Leg Up & A Longer Jump
If a ledge looks out of reach, give it a try anyway! Dante can actually grab and climb ledges he is able to meet with at least his waist. Anything lower and your golden. Also, don't be overzealous when executing a double jump - the second jump isn't used so much to increase height as it is to increase your air time, especially when leaping forward (and not upward). Double jumping at the apex of your first jump won't do you too much, other than maintain your height for another moment, so if you want to get the most distance out of a double jump, wait until Dante starts his descent, and then execute the second jump to prolong the action, and increase your distance a little more.

^) Devil Burst & DT Meter Behavior
If you have enough magic to activate DT, you can use it when caught in certain prolonged attacks, like the Ravager's impalement. Use this to gain a burst of automatic shielding and knock that Ravager right on his ass. When you activate DT, you'll a chunk of it turn grey - this is an amount of magic that will be spent no matter what, even if you prematurely end your DT. After that portion of the meter is burned through, deactivating your DT won't take any other chunk besides what it consumed to stay active in the first place.

&) Short Stop
Angel Boost is a useful ability, but it pays to remember how it can be used. Using Angel Boost is done with Angel+Jump in midair, and Dante will continue to glide the full distance for as long as the Angel Mode key is held, so you can end your glide prematurely by just letting go of Angel mode. You can also turn slightly if you hold the Left Stick in certain directions, just to curve your trajectory a little. You can also perform an "Evade Cancel" out of the glide and preserve your airtime, even in a stationary position.

*) Stand the Heat, Stay in the Kitchen
When fighting a Hell Knight and it uses its power to enkindle the ground, don't fret! Just keep your finger on the Demon Mode key to protect yourself from damage when things heat up, and continue to fight! You can otherwise use aerial combat on others or Angel Boost out of the area, but then you wouldn't be taking advantage of some free hits on the Hell Knight.


() Dodge and Jump Canceling
Everyone knows about Jump Canceling at this point, but it's essentially jumping with either a Double Jump or an Enemy Step to cancel the animation of an attack, resetting Dante to a neutral stance, where he can attack again. When using Enemy Step, this can be used nearly indefinitely if timed correctly. Another version of this is the Dodge Cancel. If you want to get out of a move, and change your position, you can walk out only after the attack has fully gone through its animation, but you can Evade out of it sooner than that. When done in the air, it can preserve airtime. To test this, perform Hacker up to the point when the blade shines (at the pause) - you can only walk out after the shine is finished, but you can dodge out much sooner from that same point.
Couple this with the Angel Evade's back-and-forth Angel Dancing and you can move about and reposition yourself quite easily in ways Ophion won't allow.


!)) The 180 Helm Breaker
You may have seen this in several DmC combo videos, but let me reiterate its worth. Performing air combos is nice, but keeping up the variety necessary to juggle an enemy can get a little scarce. To keep the juggle going and add more variety, tilt the Left Stick in the opposite direction of the enemy your attack, and perform a Helm Breaker to quickly drop to the ground while the enemy is still flailing about. From the ground, there are several things you can do to catch the enemy; Prop Shredder, Raze, Overdrive, Hightime, or however else you want to proceed, and the higher up you were, the more time you have to set up subsequent moves. This also gives you a few more options when fighting certain aligned enemies like the Frost Knights. The world is your oyster, go shuck those demons!

Also make sure you know where you'll both be landing :p

!!) Angel Kick
Not really mentioned in many places, but it's possible to kick off a wall after Angel Gliding into it. Dante needs to meet with the wall within a 45 degree angle from his front, so when practicing, just try to fly head-on into walls. Remember to keep hold of the Angel Mode trigger, and once you hit the wall, you'll see Dante place his hands on it for a second. During this time, you can input another Angel Glide and Dante will shoot off the wall. Use Left Stick inputs to direct Dante's kick. This can be done repeatedly as long as you're able to meet with the wall at the correct angle.

To try this out yourself, the walls in the fountain court in the demo are great for this. Specifically, the gate opposite where you progress is large and flat enough to test things with.

!@) Overshift Triggering
A handy little technique that can shave off a few precious milliseconds and make your combos a bit more precise. So, we have the two mode triggers, Angel and Demon, right? By simply pressing the button you'll go into that mode (sometimes a split second of time is necessary for the controls to change), and high-level play revolves around using those different modes as quickly as possible. If you happen to be in one mode, and want to switch to another, you don't even have to lift your finger off the first trigger - simply hold down the other trigger, and Dante's current mode will shift to the most recent one activated, and then you can easily swing right back into the previous mode by letting off the second trigger again. In such a way, your currently desired mode will overlap the one you're currently in, shifting back and forth to the previous mode in less time.

!#) Spiral Dodge
By using the Gun Special input key(s) while on the ground with Ebony & Ivory equipped, you'll perform Inverse Rainstorm (IRS), where Dante spirals into the air while shooting. You can also use IRS to set up a helpful evasive maneuver that allows you to avoid attacks while remaining stationary. Simply perform IRS, and then immediately press an Evasion key while not tilting the Left Stick. This causes Dante to lift up off the ground from IRS, but then perform a stationary aerial dodge to cancel out of IRS while offering all the benefits of that evasive technique. This is a great way to keep Dante rooted to one area while still avoiding enemy ire!

Works much better if Gun Special is set to a specific key, and not the Shoot+Jump combo. So far, this can only be used in Normal mode, as Angel and Demon modes replace and modify a portion of IRS' inputs.
 

thanashs

You wanna dance ? Let's DANCE...
So, just a few basics that I've been thinking about that has gotten some people all mixed up in playing the game. The controls are different, of course, but there's also some subtle mechanics to master in order to really get the most out of the game....or demo, as it were :p

!) Orientation & Facing
This one is a little easy to remember, but Dante's facing is extremely important. Whether it's aiming a firearm or Ophion, or even using melee attacks, facing is key. Dante has a form of auto-lock for both close and far combat, but it can be overridden by tilting the left stick. This is best used when you specifically want to attack a certain enemy within a group. Also be sure to make use of R3 to snap the camera behind Dante facing to ensure that you always know precisely where enemies

Yeah, it can get messed up when you want to target someone behind another within a similar line of sight, but that's when you should be using something like Angel Boost to get yourself closer. complain all you want about the lack of a hard lock, but here's a solution, use it or don't :p

@) Input Buffering
People familiar with fighters might know this one, but buffering inputs with other attacks will help you keep your flow in a combo, and battle in general. Specifically, this is when you start doing the input of another subsequent action while the animation of the first is still active. People are almost always doing this when they mash a button to perform a regular combo, but most importantly this can be done for other actions, specifically ones that require more inputs...
  • Stinger's Left Stick inputs can be done during other attacks to reduce the "start-up time" the has from having to double-tap the stick
  • Holding in one of the Mode triggers to prep yourself for a different action can make sure your next attack is more precise, and comes out fluidly within a combo, like if your attack is going to blow the enemy away, immediately hold the applicable trigger and mashing Shoot to be ready for using Ophion, instead of waiting for that split-second shifting process
...this is probably one of the most important aspects in making crazy-long combos, and ensures you don't break your rhythm. Also use a stationary aerial evade to retain your airtime, and also as another animation within which to buffer the next ability you want to do.

#) Angel Dancing
Just a few things from the demo, where if you double-tap Evade while in Angel mode, you'll do half your normal dodge roll, and then the phasing dash that's done when you normally Angel Evade just before an attack connects. This not only lengthens your evasion distance (and invincibility frames), but you can also redirect yourself mid-evade by tapping one direction and then immediately tilting to another before the phasing animation starts. This way, you can dodge away and return to be ready for a counter attack. This can also be done during an aerial evade, but you'll lose height.

$) Parry Shredder & Rake Jumping
Having trouble parrying attacks? Try facing the enemy you want to parry, ready Osiris, and use Prop Shredder during their attack broadcast before the hit lands. The attack's animation is long enough that it affords you a longer window with which to parry. This can be useful when you don't want to take too many chances, but want to get that parry in, like on Poison's arm sweep. Another interesting move with Osiris is by using Enemy Step to Jump Cancel from one Rake, then letting Dante get just high enough to still reach down at the enemy with another Rake. Keep up the timing and spacing, and it's another way to climb up to the sky!

%) A Leg Up & A Longer Jump
If a ledge looks out of reach, give it a try anyway! Dante can actually grab and climb ledges he is able to meet with at least his waist. Anything lower and your golden. Also, don't be overzealous when executing a double jump - the second jump isn't used so much to increase height as it is to increase your air time, especially when leaping forward (and not upward). Double jumping at the apex of your first jump won't do you too much, other than maintain your height for another moment, so if you want to get the most distance out of a double jump, wait until Dante starts his descent, and then execute the second jump to prolong the action, and increase your distance a little more.

^) Devil Burst & DT Meter Behavior
If you have enough magic to activate DT, you can use it when caught in certain prolonged attacks, like the Ravager's impalement. Use this to gain a burst of automatic shielding and knock that Ravager right on his ass. When you activate DT, you'll a chunk of it turn grey - this is an amount of magic that will be spent no matter what, even if you prematurely end your DT. After that portion of the meter is burned through, deactivating your DT won't take any other chunk besides what it consumed to stay active in the first place.

&) Short Stop
Angel Boost is a useful ability, but it pays to remember how it can be used. Using Angel Boost is done with Angel+Jump in midair, and Dante will continue to glide the full distance for as long as the Angel Mode key is held, so you can end your glide prematurely by just letting go of Angel mode. You can also turn slightly if you hold the Left Stick in certain directions, just to curve your trajectory a little. You can also perform an "Evade Cancel" out of the glide and preserve your airtime, even in a stationary position.
C:\Users\Ιωάννα\Desktop\izwDBa0UzNguK.gif
 

kotakota

Well-known Member
Not sure if this is really useful but Dante's ground Rainstorm is airborne on first frame and can be cancelled, this allows for a few tricks.
I'm kinda new to DMC so forgive me for the terminology.

Rainstorm > Evade : The evade looks grounded because you're back to the ground immediately but it's an air evade, therefore it recovers faster.

Rainstorm > Jump > Attack : Allows to perform a "hop", or basically your 2 air jump from the ground, allowing to do instant air attacks, which is not possible with the regular jump start-up.
This works great with the Demon Axe's strong attack, if performed correctly it goes straight to the ground attack animation that you get when you reach the ground, skipping the slow part where he raises the axe.

Hold E&I > Rainstorm > Release E&I > ground Attack : This is a little trick that for some reason cancels a part of a ground attack's animation, it's only for stylish purpose I guess. For example with the Angel Scythe's strong attack (spinning move), Dante just stand watching enemies in juggle state, or with the Sword strong attack (launcher) he teleports into the air.
 

Noel

Well-known Member
Hold Ebony and Ivory until it's charge enough > Evade > Attack. The Ricoshot will still be charge until you press shoot. Now you can launch enemy then juggle them using the Ricoshot without customizing the controls.

You can perform Angel Uppercut much more successfully by attacking enemy on the air using the Osiris two times then uppercut. Experiment using uppercut after performing aerial attack. You will find it easy to perform Angel Uppercut eventually.
 

Noel

Well-known Member
So, just a few basics that I've been thinking about that has gotten some people all mixed up in playing the game. The controls are different, of course, but there's also some subtle mechanics to master in order to really get the most out of the game....or demo, as it were :p

!) Orientation & Facing
This one is a little easy to remember, but Dante's facing is extremely important. Whether it's aiming a firearm or Ophion, or even using melee attacks, facing is key. Dante has a form of auto-lock for both close and far combat, but it can be overridden by tilting the left stick. This is best used when you specifically want to attack a certain enemy within a group. Also be sure to make use of R3 to snap the camera behind Dante's facing to ensure that you always know precisely where enemies are.

Yeah, it can get messed up when you want to target someone behind another within a similar line of sight, but that's when you should be using something like Angel Boost to get yourself closer. complain all you want about the lack of a hard lock, but here's a solution, use it or don't :p

I like the auto-lock, I probably even prefer it. But it helps if the game show me which enemy I lock-on. A target on the enemy or a health bar maybe.
 

EricDaNerd

Well-known Member
an optional visible lock on would be pretty cool...but I do stress the word "optional". sometimes I don't wish to see it. Like the way they had it in DMC3.
 

DreadnoughtDT

God of Hyperdeath
Premium
Supporter 2014
I would prefer the kind of lock-on system that DMC2 had. A reticule on the nearest target along with that target's HP bar.

At least give me a health bar for mid-boss type enemies like Bayonetta does.
 

TWOxACROSS

Hot-blooded God of Guns
Premium
Added in a few more tidbits. the 180HB is actually a lot of fun to stick into your combat repertoire :3
 

wallenb

Humanoid Typhoon
Wow 5 pages down the road....

well here's another important basic.

While holding the demon stance down, you can seamlessly switch to Angel stance by holding both triggers at the same time (vice versa) and by letting go of one of the triggers will keep you in that stance. (maybe old news, but i thought i'd mention it)
 

TWOxACROSS

Hot-blooded God of Guns
Premium
Ah yes, that's right! I've been doing that one for a while, but, I never thought to add it >.< I'll do that now.
 

wallenb

Humanoid Typhoon
HAHA me too, it was easy to figure out but it was just something that could be easily over looked. Just like being able to attack in a demon stance while the floor was on fire.
 

TWOxACROSS

Hot-blooded God of Guns
Premium
Added in info on the "Spiral Dodge," the mentioned technique of immediately Evade Canceling out of an IRS, creating a stationary ground dodge!
 

Dante's best Friend

When brothers are united demons should run
Hi, i'm new here and i wanted to mention something in addition to the spiral dodge. When you do a spiral dodge and after that a drop you skip a big part of its animation. I use this as a quick version of tremor to make my play faster and make it look better. Don't know if this is relevant for anyone but i wanted to mention it, in case somebody wants to add it to his/her gameplay.
 

chocolateghost79

First of the Dead
Premium
Hi, i'm new here and i wanted to mention something in addition to the spiral dodge. When you do a spiral dodge and after that a drop you skip a big part of its animation. I use this as a quick version of tremor to make my play faster and make it look better. Don't know if this is relevant for anyone but i wanted to mention it, in case somebody wants to add it to his/her gameplay.
Thanks for the tip!
I'm gonna try that.
 

wallenb

Humanoid Typhoon
also anytime after you throw the ax head in the air, u can always do a drop after. so spiral Dodge > throw ax > drop
 
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